Diary - HighHopes for 2017 and beyond!!

[HighHopes]

I'm new to The Money Shed but already I'm a bit addicted I was up until 2.30am reading through the posts on here! I woke this morning keen to pick up where I left off last night.

Before I spend all day on here (which I could easily do), I have to be practical and get on with my HMRC self assessment

This is just a quick first post to say I'm really excited to be part of this community and to use this diary to keep track of the steps I'm taking to make and save money. I'll be back soon to introduce myself properly.

 

[Jon]

Fantastic to hear you like the site [member=5608]HighHopes[/member]

If you need any help with HMRC give this post a read

http://blog.themoneyshed.co.uk/self-employed-toolkit/

 

[katykicker]

I'm new to The Money Shed but already I'm a bit addicted I was up until 2.30am reading through the posts on here! I woke this morning keen to pick up where I left off last night.

Before I spend all day on here (which I could easily do), I have to be practical and get on with my HMRC self assessment

This is just a quick first post to say I'm really excited to be part of this community and to use this diary to keep track of the steps I'm taking to make and save money. I'll be back soon to introduce myself properly.

Welcome to you [member=5608]HighHopes[/member] - looking forward to seeing how you get on!

 

[HighHopes]

I think the 1st area I need to work on is making the money that is coming into the house go as far as it possibly can. A couple of months ago I checked to make sure we were on the best tariffs for gas/electricity, broadband, mobiles, etc. but now I need to go a step beyond that.

Gas & Electricity
We made use of a government grant a few years ago to insulate our loft which has helped with our heating bill and we also switched to energy efficient light bulbs. As and when we need to replace appliances, we're aiming to buy energy efficient ones. We're currently trying to make sure we turn lights off, don't leave items on standby, not over filling the kettle, etc. We've contacted our supplier about fitting a smart meter.

Water
We've had a water meter fitted but we're not being billed through it yet. Even though we're a household of 5, our initial comparison bill looks as though we'd save money switching to the meter. Before I make the switch I want to make sure we're not wasting water and that everyone in the house is on board. Our water supplier had a number of free water efficient devices that I ordered and they arrived this morning. I'm going to see which ones work for us and basically implement all of Katy's suggestions from her Bootcamp blog about utilities.

Mobile Phones
I'm happy with my price plan but I want to make sure I'm not charged for anything above that. For me if a text message goes above 1kb then it converts to a picture message and I'm charged extra - I need to make sure I either send multiple shorter messages or use whatsapp where I can. Most of the people I contact use whatsapp so if I need to send any photos or make calls oversees then I need to go through whatsapp.
On my price plan 03 number don't cost me anything so whenever I have to call and 0845 number I always swap it to 0345 as usually they're interchangeable.

Misc
Food Shopping - I find making a weekly meal plan and having a proper shopping list saves money and stops us from wasting food. On the weeks I haven't meal planned I end up doing quite a few top up shops and spending a huge amount of money.
General Shopping - I need to continue using cashback sites and check for discount codes before I make any purchases. And most importantly don't buy anything I don't need
Petrol - make full use of petrolprices.com

These are the main areas that will help me stretch the money we do have. One of the most important things is that I have to plan ahead. I find when I'm disorganised I end spending so much more money.

 

[katykicker]

[member=5608]HighHopes[/member] this is great. A lot of people often overlook savings in their quest to make more money! Always makes me wonder why!!

 

[HighHopes]

I've had a few productive days.

Money Saving
Broadband
We're currently on a deal where we pay line rental and get unlimited broadband for free but this is due to expire in the next month or so. My supplier contacted me out of the blue to say they were going to extend the free broadband for another 9 months. So at least that gives me a bit more time to shop around.

Spending Diary
On paper, we should have some money left over each month to save. But we seem to spend every penny. We've been keeping a daily spending diary and this has been a real eye opener. It's definitely made us more aware of our spending so it's something I'm intending to keep up every month.

Getting the kids on board
We've been talking to the children about our gas, electricity and water usage and trying to make them aware that using too much is bad for the environment and also it costs mummy and daddy more money. They're still young (two at primary and one at pre-school) so don't fully understand about about money but they do have some understanding plus it's never too early to teach them the value of money. We have our water saving freebies which we're going to get the kids to help us fit and we can explain what each one does. I'm hoping this might help them remember to turn off the lights and not leave taps running

Money Making
I've not been concentrating on making money as I wanted to make sure that the money we do have isn't being wasted unnecessarily. But I've still made a few small amounts in the last couple of days:

Music Magpie - £17.99 which I'll split with my mum - £8.99
Quidco - Music Magpie Cashback - 1.38
Post Survey - love2shop voucher - £5.00
Roamler - first job - £2.00

My next task is to set up a new email address and also a separate bank account (matched betting) and then start signing up to some new companies. I'll see how I get on from there!

 

[HighHopes]

We've put all of the water saving freebies in place and the kids seem to be more aware of the water they're using. So if the next comparison water bill shows we're using less water than we're being billed for then we'll opt to move fully to the water meter. Plus they'll refund anything we've been overcharged since the meter was put in place.

Our electricity and gas company have been in touch to say they'll come out to us in March to swap us over to a Smart meter.

I've signed up with Prolific and Red WigWam. I've also added a few apps to my phone (ClickSnap, Shopmium, etc.).

I've applied to Leapforce but not yet heard anything back from them. Not 100% sure I will as one of the questions was something along the lines of "is this gmail account the one you use for personal emails?" I don't use gmail for my personal emails so I answered no - not sure if this will affect the application.

I have an upcoming £60 focus group and also signed up for the Feb round of post surveys which will give me another £5 in vouchers.

I've set up a separate bank account so that I can give MB a try. I've done lots of reading about it and now think it's time to jump in. I should have a quiet couple of hours during the week when the kids are at school and nursery so watch this space

 

[HighHopes]

I was meant to do a £60 focus group but the client narrowed their requirements so I wasn't needed which was quite disappointing :-\

I started the month concentrating on saving money and only moved my sights to making money mid-month. I made £270.56 - here's the breakdown:

Red WigWam - £7.50
Prolific - £22.15
eBay - £22.80
MB - £134.09
Music Magpie - £7.41
Quidco - £61.73
Topcashback - £9.07
Post Survey - £5

I've joined the February Money Making forum and I'm hoping I'll make at least £500 ;D

 

[AngelaMCGF]

I've had a few productive days.

Money Saving
Broadband
We're currently on a deal where we pay line rental and get unlimited broadband for free but this is due to expire in the next month or so. My supplier contacted me out of the blue to say they were going to extend the free broadband for another 9 months. So at least that gives me a bit more time to shop around.

Spending Diary
On paper, we should have some money left over each month to save. But we seem to spend every penny. We've been keeping a daily spending diary and this has been a real eye opener. It's definitely made us more aware of our spending so it's something I'm intending to keep up every month.

Getting the kids on board
We've been talking to the children about our gas, electricity and water usage and trying to make them aware that using too much is bad for the environment and also it costs mummy and daddy more money. They're still young (two at primary and one at pre-school) so don't fully understand about about money but they do have some understanding plus it's never too early to teach them the value of money. We have our water saving freebies which we're going to get the kids to help us fit and we can explain what each one does. I'm hoping this might help them remember to turn off the lights and not leave taps running

Money Making
I've not been concentrating on making money as I wanted to make sure that the money we do have isn't being wasted unnecessarily. But I've still made a few small amounts in the last couple of days:

Music Magpie - £17.99 which I'll split with my mum - £8.99
Quidco - Music Magpie Cashback - 1.38
Post Survey - love2shop voucher - £5.00
Roamler - first job - £2.00

My next task is to set up a new email address and also a separate bank account (matched betting) and then start signing up to some new companies. I'll see how I get on from there!

I'm looking round for new broadband too at the minute - wanted F/optic - no chance, its a nightmare - why keep showing me Ryan Reynolds dangling - if its just not available.

 

[katykicker]

I've had a few productive days.

Money Saving
Broadband
We're currently on a deal where we pay line rental and get unlimited broadband for free but this is due to expire in the next month or so. My supplier contacted me out of the blue to say they were going to extend the free broadband for another 9 months. So at least that gives me a bit more time to shop around.

Spending Diary
On paper, we should have some money left over each month to save. But we seem to spend every penny. We've been keeping a daily spending diary and this has been a real eye opener. It's definitely made us more aware of our spending so it's something I'm intending to keep up every month.

Getting the kids on board
We've been talking to the children about our gas, electricity and water usage and trying to make them aware that using too much is bad for the environment and also it costs mummy and daddy more money. They're still young (two at primary and one at pre-school) so don't fully understand about about money but they do have some understanding plus it's never too early to teach them the value of money. We have our water saving freebies which we're going to get the kids to help us fit and we can explain what each one does. I'm hoping this might help them remember to turn off the lights and not leave taps running

Money Making
I've not been concentrating on making money as I wanted to make sure that the money we do have isn't being wasted unnecessarily. But I've still made a few small amounts in the last couple of days:

Music Magpie - £17.99 which I'll split with my mum - £8.99
Quidco - Music Magpie Cashback - 1.38
Post Survey - love2shop voucher - £5.00
Roamler - first job - £2.00

My next task is to set up a new email address and also a separate bank account (matched betting) and then start signing up to some new companies. I'll see how I get on from there!

I'm looking round for new broadband too at the minute - wanted F/optic - no chance, its a nightmare - why keep showing me Ryan Reynolds dangling - if its just not available.

I keep getting approached in the street by Virgin Media and when I say 'you can't provide me' they say 'well when did you last check?' 'Why, have you suddenly run cables into the new build estate I've lived in for 6 bloody years?' So annoying! I'd love broadband without a phone line.

 

[Jon]

Hey @HighHopes

Just checking in with you as was wondering how you were getting on with all your amazing efforts saving and earning money!